Breaking Down What New England Patriots' Offseason Moves Mean for the NFL Draft

With the first wave of NFL free-agency frenzy over, it becomes a bit easier to project potential plans for the New England Patriots in the 2013 NFL draft.

It's only been a week since free agency began, but the Patriots already look drastically different than a season ago.

On offense, Tom Brady lost his favorite target Wes Welker to the Broncos, but will have a new toy in scrappy wide receiver Danny Amendola.

On defense, the Patriots managed to retain their main source of attitude by bringing back cornerback Aqib Talib while also adding some muscle to the back end in the form of veteran safety Adrian Wilson.

While Bill Belichick and company have been busy, there is still work to do with holes to fill and depth to build.

Here's a look at how the Pats' recent signings have affected their plans for draft day.

Will Svitek, Offensive Tackle

Will Svitek was likely brought aboard to be New England's swing tackle going forward, whether the Pats re-sign Sebastian Vollmer or not.

In other words, if the Pats lose Vollmer, it's like that they draft an offensive tackle early.

A couple names that come to mind are Alabama's D.J. Fluker (6'6'', 335 lbs) and Oklahoma's Lane Johnson (6'6'', 302 lbs). Both have the size and athleticism to play right tackle for the Pats and could be available to New England at the end of the first round.

Donald Jones, Wide Receiver

Donald Jones is a young and raw talent who does most of his work outside the hash marks.

As Patriots owner Robert Kraft admitted at the NFL owners meeting, the Patriots have invested enough in middle-of-the-field receivers (h/t Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston):

"We have a lot of people," Kraft said, "we’ve committed a lot of money to this inside position – you have Gronk, you have Hernandez, you have Danny (Amendola) now."

It would be surprising if Bill Belichick invested a high draft pick on an "inside" player.

A high draft pick on an outside receiver, however, would bring no surprise to this writer.

We've all said it million times, but the Patriots haven't had a true outside, deep threat since the days of Randy Moss.

The 2013 draft may be where the Patriots try to change that by targeting a big and fast receiver like Justin Hunter (6'4'', 4.44 40-yard dash time) or Cordarrelle Patterson (6'3'', 4.42 ) in the early rounds.

Aqib Talib, Cornerback

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Aqib Talib is locked in at the starting left cornerback spot for the Pats.

However, with Alfonzo Dennard facing potential jail time and Kyle Arrington much better suited for the slot, the Patriots may look to draft a talented outside cornerback in an early round as an insurance policy.

Also, with Talib signing just a one-year deal, the Patriots may be looking for his eventual replacement should they lose their No. 1 corner in free agency in 2014.

Xavier Rhodes out of Florida State, may be a potential target as he has the press-man skills and size (6'1'', 215 lbs) the Patriots covet in their cornerbacks, though he may be off the board before the Patriots pick at No. 29 overall.

Kyle Arrington, Cornerback

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Kyle Arrington projects to be the top slot cornerback on the depth chart going forward.

As mentioned, the Patriots may still draft an outside corner in the early rounds, but they may also draft a developmental-type corner in the later rounds that could potentially compete with Arrington for time in the slot.

If a guy like Tyrann Mathieu—known as the 'Honey Badger' to most—is available when the Pats pick at the end of the third round, it wouldn't be surprising to see them pull the trigger on the troubled, but talented, cornerback (who projects well as a slot corner in the NFL).

Adrian Wilson, Strong Safety

With the addition of veteran safety Adrian Wilson, the Patriots appear to be quite deep at the safety position going forward.

Wilson projects as the starting strong safety while Devin McCourty will likely remain the top free safety after performing at a high level at that spot in 2012.

Second-year safety Tavon Wilson and vet Steve Gregory will likely see the field often in sub-packages as they duke it out for the third safety spot.

T. Wilson projects as A. Wilson's eventual replacement. However, if the younger Wilson isn't viewed as a potential starter by the coaching staff, they may target a safety in the draft—which appears to be stocked with promising safeties.

If a guy like Eric Reid is available when the Patriots pick in the second round (No. 59 overall), they may jump at the opportunity.

If the right safety falls to them that presents good value, I would expect the Patriots to grab him regardless of how they feel about what looks like a solid group of safeties.

Danny Amendola, Wide Receiver

Wes Welker is gone. Brandon Lloyd is gone. Julian Edelman is still a free agent.

The Patriots don't have a single wide receiver on their roster that caught a pass from Tom Brady in 2012.

Danny Amendola looks like he'll get every opportunity to be Brady's next favorite target, but he's still an unknown having never played in the Patriots' system (although St. Louis' system is similar).

The Patriots are dangerously thin at wide receiver and all reason suggests that they will draft at least one wide receiver.

Guys like West Virginia's Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey seem like sensible targets for the Patriots as they are both quick and precise route runners who can get plenty of yards after the catch—necessary ingredients to be a successful pass-catcher in New England.